Home Cosmetic Science Talk Formulating Mild Shampoo Surfactants

  • Mild Shampoo Surfactants

    Posted by Jini on April 3, 2017 at 7:25 pm

    Hello guys!

    I have been recently dabbing into information on Shampoo formulating, it is not my strong suit so I would very much appreciate information on this topic regarding this information.

    Can you formulate a mild shampoo with only these two surfactants? Or would you need more then two? If not what would the percentage look like for a 226g (8oz) bottle?

    *Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate powder.
    *cocamidopropyl betaine.

    Thank you for your time in advance! And sorry for my lack of knowledge.

    Jini replied 6 years, 10 months ago 6 Members · 8 Replies
  • 8 Replies
  • oldperry

    Member
    April 3, 2017 at 8:06 pm

    I think that depends on what performance characteristics you want out of the shampoo.  If you are just looking for cleaning, sure you could make a shampoo with those surfactants. If you want foam, thickness, conditioning, etc. then you’ll need more than that.

  • Jini

    Member
    April 3, 2017 at 8:21 pm

    Great thank you for the Intel Perry. Will try to make it thick with Xanthan Gum but I am just mainly looking cleansing purposes.

  • johnb

    Member
    April 4, 2017 at 7:55 am

    You will need more than two sufactants (however mild they may be) and a thickener if you want anyone to use your shampoo more than once. There is much more to a shampoo than cleansing - that is why some very large companies have large departments dedicated to shampoo formulation.

    I honestly think you should learn more about shampoos before you proceed much further. If nothing else, check out the LOI of products already on the market. You can do this easily by checking manufacturers web sites and looking for ingredients.

    BTW xanthan gum is a very poor thickener when used alone.

  • Jini

    Member
    April 6, 2017 at 1:01 am

    Thank you for your insight Johnb ☺

  • Soapily

    Member
    April 7, 2017 at 2:32 pm

    Don’t use xanthan gum. I prefer to use Viscolam Mac 10, or Aquagel, hiposap ..

  • vjay

    Member
    May 11, 2017 at 7:24 am

    You need to add some humectant also to increase moisture after wash.
    If you are using heigher % of Cocamidopropyl betaine, it will give more slippery effect which consumer don’t like.
    You can also try polyglucosides also.

  • crillz

    Member
    May 11, 2017 at 11:28 am

    We tend to use these 4. Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Decyl Glucoside, Sodium Lauroamphoacetate, Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate.

  • Jini

    Member
    May 11, 2017 at 5:14 pm

    Thank you very much!

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